


Touching Souls

by EvelynVerityMarsh



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 06:01:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6143806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvelynVerityMarsh/pseuds/EvelynVerityMarsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments of THE CAPTIVE PRINCE series from Laurent’s point of view.</p><p>Set in a daemon AU where souls are physical and vocal and very revealing.</p><p>~</p><p>Spoilers for KINGS RISING from Chapter 1.<br/>No knowledge of dæmons required.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will look at some of the events of the CAPTIVE PRINCE series from Laurent’s point of view. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who’s read all the books again just to try and figure out what’s going on in his beautiful head at every moment. However, as this by itself might be a little repetitive for a fic, I've set this story in a dæmon AU. Don’t worry if you don’t know the rules of this AU. I’m adding the basic information below in this note. You don’t need to have read Philip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS (although I definitely recommend it) and you don’t need anything except what’s below. Even without it, I’ll try to make sure you can pick up the rules as we go.
> 
> If you have any scenes (or missing scenes) that you’d like to see, please drop me a line. I've got some ideas I want to play with, but I very happy to try and take some requests.
> 
> As to the tags on this fic, I haven’t yet written anything that hits AO3’s warnings, but I’m putting them in there now. As we know, the Veretian court is a dangerous place and I don’t want to have to change ratings and warnings later on.
> 
> ~
> 
>  
> 
> Basic rules for Dæmon AU - with help from fanlore.org and with all credit to Philip Pullman who invented these rules in HIS DARK MATERIALS:
> 
> • A dæmon is a physical manifestation of a person’s inner-self or soul. Everyone has a dæmon.  
> • It takes the form of an animal. Like a patronus in HARRY POTTER, the form a dæmon takes says something about the person.  
> • In most people, the dæmon is the opposite gender to their human. (E.g. Damianos’ dæmon is female.) However, there is a tiny percentage of the population where human and dæmon are the same gender (*cough* Laurent. *cough cough*). No one (not even Mr Pullman) knows why this is.  
> • During childhood, a person’s dæmon can change at will depending on the child’s needs, mood and personality. At some point during puberty, a human’s dæmon will ‘settle’ into one form and lose the ability to change. This represents growing up and ‘settling’ into maturity.  
> • Dæmons have human intelligence and are capable of human speech. They usually behave independently of their humans, but their moods and emotions are linked. Dæmons often act in a way that mirrors their human. E.g. nuzzling each other if their humans are hugging.  
> • For a dæmon to touch other dæmons is perfectly ordinary.  
> • For a human to touch any dæmon except their own is utterly taboo. It is the greatest violation possible when done without consent. Lovers in very close, trusting relationships may touch each other’s dæmons but it carries overwhelming emotion and vulnerability with it. Even some married couples never touch each other’s dæmons.  
> • A dæmon and their human cannot be parted by more than a few feet without physical, mental and spiritual agony. The exact distance is never specified and varies slightly from person to person. A dæmon would usually prefer to stay in the same room as their human.  
> • When a human dies, so does their dæmon. If a dæmon dies, so does their human.
> 
> I think that’s the main stuff that’s important for this story. For more information, please see Wikipedia, Fanlore or go and read His Dark Materials.

 

_~_

_I remember that time you told me_  
_You said, "Love is touching souls"_  
_Surely you touched mine_  
_'Cause part of you pours out of me_  
_In these lines from time to time_

 _Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine_  
_You taste so bitter and so sweet_  
_Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling_  
_And still I'd be on my feet_  
_I would still be on my feet_

**_A Case of You, by Joni Mitchell_ **

 

~

 

In all the days of his life thereafter, Laurent would be grateful that [Réveiller](http://www.fyqyfz.com/data/uploads/3/292394-arctic-fox.jpg) had been in his arms the day they first met Damen and [Vasílissa](https://fuzzyundertones.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/lioness-2.jpg). The roaring moment of shock that overwhelmed him as he unexpectedly met the eyes of his brother’s murderer rose up in him quietly; in Réveiller it was physical: muscle, teeth, fur and fury. Had he been in his customary place at Laurent’s side, the dæmon would have been tearing at Vasílissa’s throat before a single logical thought could have been formed and history would have been very different. As it was, Laurent’s distaste for entering a room for the express purpose of viewing a human bound to him in choiceless slavery, and Réveiller’s leaping neatly into his arms to offer silent support, saved at least one life that day.

 

Laurent saw the dark head and the golden cat bent before him and his hands seized tight into white fox fur. It was instinct - survival learned several years before when Réveiller’s responses to emotion had overnight become a danger, not a delight. It was not in the nature of dæmons to conceal their feelings, but a blank mask had been necessity since Marlas. It was almost five years since Laurent had last physically restrained his dæmon, yet Réveiller responded to him with the same immediacy, the same reluctance. For a long second, Laurent stared at the faithless barbarian kneeling chained and powerless before him. The tanned skin reeked of roses. Only the thrumming of Réveiller’s heartbeat against his own stopped him from demanding a sword from one of the guards. He must speak or risk someone noticing his distress. “An Akielon grovelling on its knees. How fitting.”

This was a game, a trick. He could feel his uncle’s hand in this, could feel himself being prodded and poked into action and reaction. Myriad tiny cruelties certainly waited to ensnare him whichever path he took from here. He felt it, yet the rage and pain of seeing Damianos Prince-Killer clouded everything, his reasoning faculties disrupted.

“He’s intended as a pleasure slave, but he isn’t trained,” said Guion. The thought turned Laurent’s stomach and a low growl vibrated through Réveiller’s chest, white teeth flashing. Here, at least, they were in complete agreement. “Kastor suggested that you might like to break him at your leisure.” Break him. _Break him._ His head filled with the thousand bloody fantasies that had kept him company through sword rings and long nights.

“The King of Akielos believes us desperate enough to rut with scum and its mangy cat?” Réveiller asked, amber eyes trained on the bound and muzzled lioness beside her human. Laurent felt his dæmon’s pleasure like a subcutaneous thrill, watching frustrated impotence roll along Vasílissa’s curved back. “I never met an Akielon who wasn’t better made for flogging than for fucking.” Réveiller spoke loudly, intending to be heard by everyone as he spoke to Guion directly. A mask they might be wearing, but they had never attempted to disguise Réveiller’s otherness: his maleness, his propensity to flout etiquette and address humans Laurent shared no special bond with. It unsettled people and was yet another carefully honed tool in their armoury.

Laurent forced a thin smile and kept silent, obliging Guion to personally answer his dæmon, not the human as custom required. “You wish him broken on the cross, Your Highness?”

“I believe that will discharge our obligation to the King of Akielos,” said Laurent and turned to leave, knowing that if he stayed a moment longer, he would wrap his own hands around Damianos’ neck. He needed his rooms. Now.

“Wait.” Réveiller’s voice was sudden and shocking. Laurent hoped his surprise was not visible. They never disagreed in public, never countermanded an order given or a comment made by the other. In a court riddled with enemies, they could not afford anything less than a perfectly synchronised front. Réveiller looked apologetic, but determined. The white fox pressed his soft face against Laurent’s ear and whispered for him alone. “Let’s speak to him, see if we can make him reveal himself. If the barbarian gives his own identity away then our uncle will _have_ to kill him. There’ll be no need for us to do anything and whatever trap this is will be broken.”

A breath. Laurent steadied himself and fought to think. Hate was choking him and he doubted his ability for control if he actually had to cross words with the man who had butchered Auguste and Reine. Réveiller’s tongue brushed his cheek and he allowed himself another slow breath. Then he turned back to the barbarian. “Remove the gag. I wish to speak with him.”

“He’s got a mouth on him,” warned the handler.

“Your Highness, if I might suggest—” began Councillor Guion.

“Do it.” Again, Réveiller spoke when any other dæmon would have left communication with a human to their own human. Guion’s [tiger salamander dæmon, Avidité](https://beetlesinthebush.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/img_3409_enh_crp_1200x800_usm.jpg), squirmed uncomfortably.

The handler removed the cloth from Damianos’ mouth while his [snake bird demon](https://phillanoue.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/anhinga-w-fish-sunday-morning-ng-02.jpg) carefully loosened the lock on the lioness’ maw by a few degrees. Laurent watched the chained brute of a man flex his jaw painfully and hated him. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked and made his voice honey sweet.

The slave did not respond, but to meet his eyes, unrepentant. They were brown and Laurent wanted to gouge them from his face.

“Perhaps he’s defective,” suggested Guion.

Defective, no. Uneducated, certainly.

Laurent reframed his question again in slow, precise Akielon - .

And was shocked beyond words for the second time in as many minutes when the hulking barbarian snapped back in perfect Veretian, “I speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart.”

Something hardened inside Laurent’s chest, deep in a place he had already believed stone. He allowed the tide of guards to wash around him, beating Damianos and pushing him down to the ground.

Not uneducated then. Not mindless and doltish and nothing but an arm to swing a sword. Damianos had a mind, had nerve and idiotic tenacity. It made it worse somehow. It made him human. It took the monstrous giant who had slain his brother and made him a mortal man. He was so engaged in burying his confussion until he could tend to it in private, that it was almost easy to not react when the handler said, “The King of Akielos says, if it pleases you, call him ‘Damen’.”

“They thought a slave nicknamed for their late Prince would amuse you. It’s in poor taste. They are an uncultured society,” said Councillor Guion.

Whose hand was at work here? Was it still his uncle or was it truly Kastor? It seemed too clumsy for the former and too clever for the latter. Was there a third player on this board that he had yet to account for – another person pulling Kastor’s all too willing strings? He had a sudden suspicion, but he needed solitude and to talk this over with Réveiller at length. For the moment, he could test his theory and use it to try and provoke Damianos into revealing himself. “I heard that the King of Akielos may marry his mistress,” he said, “The Lady Jokaste. Is that true?”

Guion replied, “There was no official announcement. But there was talk of the possibility, yes.”

“So the country will be ruled by a bastard and a whore,” said Réveiller.

“How appropriate,” Laurent added and felt dark joy as their words made Damianos thrash against his chains. The lioness beside her human groaned low and pained, the muzzle holding her mouth too tightly closed to permit a roar.

“Shall we have him taken to the cross, Your Highness?” said the handler.

Laurent considered briefly. He needed his room and Réveiller’s company now, but he could already see the possible vault of information that Damianos might unknowingly provide. He was confident of his uncle’s game, but Kastor and his mistress were murkier concepts to factor into his plans and even a half-brother should be able to provide at least a modicum of insight. Also, now that he saw him, death by flogging seemed too easy for the man who could intelligently kill Auguste. He would understand Damianos, would interrogate him, would use him to his advantage and then, and only then, would he kill him. He had waited six years. He could wait a few hours more.

“No,” he said at last, turning to leave. “Restrain him here in the harem.” He could not bear to have him brought into his own household.

Réveiller called back over Laurent’s shoulder as they left behind the room and the murderer who smelled of rose oil, “But teach him some manners first.”

He heard the first blow land, then let the door fall closed on Damianos.

 

 

~

 

 

**Author End Notes:**

At the end of each chapter I’m going to provide a list of the characters mentioned and who their dæmons are. Dæmon AUs essentially double the number of characters so this could get out of hand fast!

  * **Laurent** – his dæmon is Réveiller. He is an [arctic fox](http://loe.org/content/2014-04-11/tl-arcticfox.gif). His name means _To Wake Up_ in French. He is unusual as most dæmons are the opposite gender from their human.
  * **Damen** – his dæmon is Vasílissa. She is a [lioness](https://fuzzyundertones.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/lioness-1.jpg). Her name means _Queen_ in Greek.
  * **Auguste** – his dæmon was Reine. Her name means _Queen_ in French. (Yes, it is meant to match Vasílissa’s because it makes me happy and agonised at the same time.) Her form is YET TO BE REVEALED!
  * **Guion** – his dæmon is Avidité. She is a [tiger salamander](https://beetlesinthebush.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/img_3409_enh_crp_1200x800_usm.jpg). Her name means _Greed_ in French.



Also, I saw [this story about a lioness defending a fox ](http://www.heroviral.com/lioness-baby-fox/) while looking for photo references. Even the animal kingdom ships it!

Again, if you have any scenes or missing scenes that you’d like to see, please drop me a line. I can’t promise anything, but I’d really like to try and take some requests.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auguste’s dæmon had settled a month before their fourteenth birthday. The festivities lasted for a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long it has taken for me to post this little chapter! I work six days a week and trying to find the time (and the mental energy) to get inside Laurent's lovely, perfect, very clever head is difficult to say the least. Your reviews and kudos have been a real motivator in getting this chapter posted. It would not be here if not for those of you who took the time to kick my ass. ;) Thank you especially to YuneTheQuetzalcoatl, MiladyAdler, Dragonna, neverwhere and Niphradel. I'm so happy to know that it isn't only me who desperately wants the series from Laurent's POV while simultaneously being a sucker for Daemon AUs.
> 
> This chapter is only the beginning of The Ring scene. I will complete it in ch3 as soon as I can. After that, my plan is to look at what was going on during the bathing/flogging scenes. Once that's done, the world is our mollusk. Please keep reviewing to let me know what you do and don't like. Also, feel free to keep sending in requests; they inspire me and remind me why I love Daemon AUs so much. 
> 
> If any of you are looking for other Daemon AUs and are Sherlock fans, you should definitely go an check out 'The Republic of Heaven' by Blind_Author. It is one of the best of the genre!

Auguste’s dæmon had settled a month before their fourteenth birthday. The festivities lasted for a week.  

[Reine](http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/Lion-Tiger/LionessTigress.jpg) had spent most of the previous year as a procession of big cats: jaguars, panthers, almost a whole week as a clouded leopard. It was hardly surprising when she settled as a tiger and Réveiller began colouring every one of his forms in orange and black for a while. The only real moment of drama in the whole undertaking had been Reine's single transformation into a lioness. Father had scowled and his grey wolf dæmon, Avisé, had promptly boxed both Reine's ears. There had been no malice in it, only discipline, as was their father's way, but Laurent would forever remember Reine's pleased and curious expression collapsing into contrition, her shape shrinking to a wolf cub as Avisé spoke. "The lion is a symbol of Akielos and their prince settled in that form six months ago. Ever since, I am told, almost half the would-be warrior boys of that kingdom have also settled in that form. Akielos is a country of lions and no Prince of Vere should mar his grace and breeding by taking such a barbaric shape." Reine had never taken a lioness form again and had chosen the perfect answer to Akielos in her tiger form, the tiger being known in Vere as _nature's king_.  

Thirteen was a perfect age to settle. Settling too young was a cause for concern. - Aubin, a boy Laurent's senior by a year, had settle the previous month at only nine, his dæmon become a tiny mouse when she had previously been accustomed to taking larger forms. The once lively boy now flinched and spoke few words, voice so quiet that any noise would smother it.  It was a sign of ill - that while the royal family had been visiting the country something terrible had happened at Court, something that had cut Aubin more deeply than any physical wound. Laurent's uncle, who had been left in command of the Court while the King and his sons were absent, had investigated, but no answers had been forthcoming.  

It was equally worrying to settle late. Laurent knew of no cases himself at only eight years old, but as they had sat watching a play being enacted on the ringed stage in celebration of Auguste's settling, Reine had confided to Réveiller in a whisper, “I was worried we wouldn’t settle, not after the lioness. It… It felt almost right, but Father was so angry. It made us so uncertain for a while I thought perhaps we might settle late.” 

“Late?” Réveiller asked, his orange-striped wildcat form curled warmly between Reine’s forepaws. “Is there a schedule to keep in settling?” 

Reine huffed laughter, ruffling the fur on Réveiller’s head. “A loose one, Reve. Almost everyone settles between twelve and fourteen. Fifteen is unusual. Sixteen is… bad.” 

“What does it mean if you settle at sixteen? Why is it bad?” 

“It means there’s something wrong – perhaps with a person’s head. It means that they might be mad. They don’t know who they are or where they fit. It’s sad. It means they need help.” 

Laurent had wrapped his arms around Auguste’s closest elbow. “You needn’t have worried,” he whispered. “You belong here.” 

“With us.” Réveiller shifted into an orange and black ermine and leapt to curl himself snug around Reine’s neck. Laurent’s brother pulled him close, an arm around his shoulders and the deep purr of his enormous dæmon reverberating through their seats. A story of love and epic battles unfolded on the ringed stage below them. In that moment, Laurent knew his place in the world so well, he was sure that he and Réveiller would settle at twelve. His only concern was that they might not be a tiger too. 

 

_~_  

 

Many years later, after the loss of a brother, a father and any innocence they had ever had claim to, Réveiller settled a bare week before Laurent’s sixteenth birthday. 

 

_~_  

 

Years after that, Laurent would watch a slave in chains tugged into the same ringed room which had once regularly hosted music and dramas – a room that had been a favoured haunt of his and Auguste’s. A lioness walked at the slave’s side and for a fleeting instant, Laurent saw a wholly different cat, imagined stripes and failed to notice the muzzle on the dæmon’s mouth. Laurent saw Reine, saw his brother in chains. He felt Réveiller’s sudden ache for Reine as a stab through their bond. The snow fox whimpered quietly where he sat across Laurent’s shoulders, before sliding down to curl into his lap, nose hidden in his bushy tail. Laurent ran his fingers over the crown of Réveiller’s head and hated Damianos of Akielos more ardently than anything else in the world. 

 

 

 

~

 

_To Be Continued..._

 

**Author's Note:**

Humans and their Dæmons in this chapter: 

  * **Laurent** – his dæmon is Réveiller. He is an [arctic fox](http://loe.org/content/2014-04-11/tl-arcticfox.gif). His name means _To Wake Up_ in French.  
  * **Damen** – his dæmon is Vasílissa. She is a [lioness](https://fuzzyundertones.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/lioness-1.jpg). Her name means _Queen_ in Greek. 
  * **Auguste** – his dæmon was Reine. Her form was a [tiger](http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/Lion-Tiger/LionessTigress.jpg). Her name means _Queen_ in French. 
  * **Laurent’s father** – his dæmon was Avisé. She was a [grey wolf](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=grey+wolf&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizja6D_tzMAhUHQBoKHTH1BBoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1804&bih=879). Her name means _Wise_ in French.




End file.
